Overall, the CEE insurance market saw a 2% growth in GWP, to EUR 18.67 billion, the largest contributions to the upswing trend being provided by Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Latvia and Lithuania.

Poland, the flagship CEE market had, this time, a negative influence on the regional growth rate, its 1.4% decrease materializing in a EUR 105 million shortage in the regional premiums production. Romania was the only other market reporting a negative change in GWP, of 2.28%. Yet, one should note that in both cases the negative trend shown by the market results denominated in European currency was determined by the local currencies' depreciation against Euro. In the local framework, both market have in fact recorded a quasi-stagnant evolution.

Reversing the positive trend recorded in 2017, the life insurance sector witnessed an almost 5% fall in GWP, to EUR 6.16 billion. The Polish market was the driver of the negative trend, reporting a 11.6% fall in GWP (EUR 334.7 million in absolute terms), mostly owed to a combination of factors, such as the tighter regulatory environment in multiple areas - consumer protection, distribution, fiscal treatment etc. -, and an overall negative sentiment around insurance investment products raised by the low interest rate environment.

Except for the Romanian market, the non-life insurance sector saw a positive evolution all over the CEE region, reaching to a total GWP volume of EUR 12.5 billion. The Polish market provided for about a third of the total additional GWP volume, followed by the Czech Republic, Slovakia, the Baltic markets etc. In most cases, motor insurance lines were the main source of growth, benefitting from a revigorated cars sales market, but also from a quasi-generalized increase in the insurance prices. Romania, as previously said, makes the only exception from this trend, MTPL prices decreasing, in average, by about 17% y-o-y as a result of the current regime of the reference prices and the highly competitive market.

Claims paid at regional level went up by about EUR 324 million, to a total of EUR 10.97 billion. Motor and property insurance lines have contributed almost equally to this increase, largely as a consequence of the severe weather events that affected the region in the end of 2017 and the first part of 2018. In the beginning of 2018, Cyclone Friederike has hit vast regions of the Central Europe, including the Czech Republic and Poland. The latest has experienced an increase in compensations paid in the group "other material damage" by as much as almost 60% because of the large losses recorded in agriculture. The Adriatic region has also experienced a series of strong storms, culminating with the severe storm that hit Slovenia on June 8, which are responsible for most of the paid claims increase.

Severe weather is responsible, in part, also for the increase in claims paid for the Motor Hull segment. Yet, the motor insurance sector has experienced raising claims volumes also for other causes, especially on the MTPL side.

Read the latest issue of XPRIMM Insurance Report CEE, SEE & CIS, containing statistical data for 1H2018, to get more in-depth information. The report will be officially launched at the XPRIMM Baden Baden Reception, on 21 October.

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